Getting the Right Perspective

A double page spread in my collage journal
for the new Wanderlust 2018 theme,
which is

Hills &

Mountains.

I used two magazine images
& one of my own photographs
taken from the top of the hill
near where I live.

The butterflies & word label
are from Eliza's Collage Collection.

My own photograph at the bottom

There is also Tim Holtz Tissue Tape
Stabilo All Black pencil
& printed text (my own words).

The butterflies are in three different sizes
as a reference to Jamie's class this week.

I am working in spare pages
from my edition of Wreck this Journal,
keeping them clean & simple,
yet creating pages which provoke thought
& prompt memories.

When hills & mountains
appear in our life,
let's see what is waiting
for us at the top.

We just need to have
the courage to climb
the obstacles in front of us.

Once at the top
rest a while,
take time
to look around
& you may gain
a new perspective.

Preserving Memories

Another double page spread in my Wanderlust Collage Journal.

The current online course theme is
Meadows.

This week we were adding pressed flowers to our journal pages.

Not sure if my pages are finished, but here they are.

The flowers were picked in April 2017,
pressed & kept until I needed them.

Flowers picked April 2017 ready for pressing

I have also added some freshly picked flowers to my previous Meadows page.

Here is the original photograph.

With the extra pressed flowers.

To protect the flowers, I have inserted a vellum sheet between each page.

The flowers were adhered using Mod Podge.

I added a little gold patterned tape.

A Meadow of Sunshine

This double page spread in my Wanderlust Collage Journal

is just inspired by the current theme of Meadows.

The sun has been so bright this week

so these pages capture that moment perfectly.

I chose the prompt page

(from my Wreck This Journal book)

Rub Here with Dirt.

I used images from a magazine to create the background,

the yellow dots on the left hand page

is Distress Ink (mustard seed)

showing through from the previous page.

I added my pressed flowers which were collected last year,

but then realised I needed more to complete the page.

I went outside to gather more to press,

so I have left this spread as it is for now

& will come back to it once the flowers are ready to add.

Free your Mind

This is another collage page in my Wanderlust journal,

prompted by Eliza's Art Jar on the new theme of Meadows.

Free your Mind

Inspiration was my photograph of daisies I took earlier in the week.

The rest are images from her collage collection,
(free when I purchased the Wanderlust online course at the Early Bird price).

I have included a few lines from a poem by William Wordsworth
entitled
"A Poet! He Hath Put his Heart to School"

How does the meadow-flower its bloom unfold?
Because the lovely little flower is free
Down to its root, and, in that freedom, bold;

The page is from my Wreck This Journal book by Keri Smith.

Make a mess.
Clean it up.

It is a rule which we should all adhere to.

After we have spent time having fun,
messing about in nature's beauty,
we should ensure that we leave none of our mess behind.

So if you need a ticket to go & play
in a nearby meadow,
take one of mine.

Just promise me that you will play
with childlike freedom & wonderment
& laugh,

... laugh a lot.


Items also used:-
Distress Ink (mustard seed)
Tim Holtz Design Tape (Rose)
printed text
black photo corners

Be daring

This is another collage page in my Wanderlust journal,

prompted by Eliza's Art Jar on the new theme of Trees.

Be daring

My inspiration was a photograph of my Silver Birch tree.

I used Eliza's images from her collage collection,
(free when I purchased the online course at the Early Bird price).

The pages are from my Wreck This Journal book by Keri Smith.

The paper is quite thin, so today I printed my collages elements on
premium inkjet paper 160 gsm.

This thickness allows me to sand & distress the edges of each element,
whilst giving the collage page more strength.

I used a sanding block by PaperArtsy
& a Tim Holtz Paper Distresser by Tonic.

I also added a little black smudging
with a Stabilo All pencil.

The Morn Awakes

This is another collage page in my Wanderlust journal,
using a blank page from my Wreck This Journal book,

prompted by this months theme of

Sunrise

A line from Pride & Prejudice asks the question.

 The lines of poetry are taken from a poem written by Phillis Wheatley.

I used printed text &
images from Eliza's collage sheet

Patterned paper & card from Brave Girls Club
with gingham fabric tape
& a drop of Glossy Accents for the bright eye of the bird.

Between Sleeping & Waking

This a collage page in my Wanderlust 2018 journal.

The theme for April is
Sunrise

Using inspiration from Eliza's Art Jar prompts

together with an image & text from her collage sheet
& a photograph I took of a sunrise earlier this year.

Between Sleeping and Waking

This uses another spare page from my Wreck this Journal book.

I used images of Eliza's fragmented word segments to create my found poetry.

"between sleeping and waking.
a consistent and visible sign.
a whisper from above.
today and tomorrow."

The blackbird has been singing so beautifully this Spring,
as he welcomes in the new day.
It has been a joy to listen to him every morning.

The blackbird is taken from a photograph
of a page from my Altered Coaster gluebook from last year.

I also used patterned paper from Brave Girls Club
a Faber-Castell Watercolour pencil &
DecoArt Media Black Gesso

Perfectly Imperfect

This is another collage page in my Wanderlust journal,

prompted by Kasia's A look in the Mirror lesson,
but my inspiration came from Eliza's collage collection.

Perfectly Imperfect

Apart from Eliza's images,
I also typed & printed the label
& used patterned paper designed by Vanessa Arbuthnott
for The English Paper Company.

Escape

This a collage page in my Wanderlust 2018 journal.

During the week it was International Hygge Day,

so I wanted a page to reflect this.

Using inspiration from Eliza's Art Jar prompts,

I combined it with a page reflecting a portrait of me,

using another Wreck this Journal page.

This week I have been trapped at home due to heavy snow.

A perfect time to escape the hustle & bustle of everyday life,

as it forced me to rest & reflect,

to be patient,

to refill my jar of hygge.

Dreamer of Dreams

This is my last collage page in my Wanderlust journal
for this month's theme of castles,

inspired this week by Kasia Avery.

I am using another page from my Wreck this Journal book.
This page is Figure Out A  Way To Freeze This Page,
so I thought I would freeze it in time,
as Kasia's lesson was about travelling back in time
to an imaginary life ...

Be a Dreamer of Dreams
&
never stop dreaming.

I have used three magazine images,
a Tim Holtz Paper Doll,
an off cut of the castle wall image from last week's lesson.
one image from Eliza's collage collection
& added shading with a black Stabilo pencil.

Castle of Dreams

This is another collage page in my Wanderlust journal,

inspired by Jamie's video & Eliza's mini Art Jar for February.

This month, the theme is
Castles.

I took additional inspiration from a song by Theo Katzman

White Picket Castle

& a quotation I found by George R R Martin (Game of Thrones).

"Different paths may sometimes
lead to the same castle."

I chose this quotation for various reasons.

It follows on from last months theme of
Paths & Roads.

Sometimes, instead of following the crowd,

it is more important
to take our own route to get to where
we
need to be.

I printed out one of my own photographs, from a trip to Portugal & some text,

but the rest of the images are from Eliza's collage collection.

I added some abaca ribbon & string for texture,
with some shading from a black Stabilo All pencil.

Your Life in Your Hands

Another piece in my Wanderlust art journal,

this time inspired by Kasia's lesson.

The images on the first page were taken from a magazine,
as per her prompt.

They were too large to fit on my page, so I photographed them,
then imported the image into a Word document to reduce the size.

I  also flipped the image around,
so that the eagle was flying in the opposite direction,
mainly for visual balance,
but also figuratively as it is now flying
towards the future, not the past.

My poem was written using the three prompts of
past * present * future

I am using spare pages from my Wreck this Journal book,
for collage pages for the Wanderlust course this year
so for the second page the

trace your hand
page seemed apt.

The hand, one of Eliza's collage images,
was outlined with a black Stablio All pencil

& lightly blended with a water brush.

The butterfly image was also from Eliza.

*   *   *
it was another time & place
a different world
filled with tired shadows &
fading voices of yesterday

whilst blackbirds sing in the sunshine
I sit quietly with my thoughts
resting deeply in contentment
in this moment, here, today

my hopes with freedom soar so high
across the seas & through the sky
read my words, hear my voice, listen to my story
tomorrow, her arms wide open, beckons me

*   *   *

The Journey

Another piece in my Wanderlust art journal,

this time inspired by Jamie's video.

I am using spare pages from my Wreck this Journal book

& these two pages seemed to fit well with the wandering path theme.

Begin
commit to your journey
Faith
believe in yourself
Detail
plan & prepare for success
Practice
good things come to those who try
Take one step at a time
there will be many steps on your journey

Validate
make sure your destination is somewhere you want to go
Document
ensure that you can measure your progress
Trust
accept the fact that you may not see progress with every step
(& that you may make mistakes along the way)
Celebrate
when you achieve a goal, take a moment to celebrate
Restore
some days you will just need to stop to have a rest

I printed out text & cut out four circular shapes from kraft paper.

The path was drawn in with a black Stablio All pencil

& blended with a water brush.

A Path to Contemplation

Another collage page in my Wanderlust art journal,

using a few of Eliza's collage images,

together with one of my own photographs.

I am using up spare pages from my Wreck this Journal book for these Art Jar collage pages.

Take the road less travelled,
it will make all the difference.

Words adapted from a poem by Robert Frost entitled The Road Not Taken.

Finding my Path

A collage page in my Wanderlust art journal,

using a few of Eliza's collage images,

together with one of my own photographs.

I am using up spare pages from my Wreck this Journal book for these Art Jar collage pages.

The quotation is by Cheryl Strayed.

"When the path reveals itself,

follow it."

The background image & other elements are from Eliza's Collage Collection,

with the exception of the arrow shapes cut from Tim Holtz Resist Kraft paper.

I have also made an index of the course themes on another page.

The covers for my journal were made back in October.

I used images supplied by Kasia.

I used fruit tea to stain some cotton for this page,

adding texture & fragrance.

More fruit tea stained pages, this time watercolour paper.

On the inside of the back cover,

I made a pocket to keep all the little pieces of collage paper.

The journal is divided into sections,

reflecting the monthly themes,

with a book ring binding so I can take pages out to work on,

with room to expand with any dimensional elements.